Ryan Bookout, PharmD, president, Hematology/Oncology Pharmacy Association, clinical pharmacist, Moffitt Cancer Center, discusses the questionable sustainability of the field of oncology as drug prices continue to rise.

Data show that as the world's population continues to grow, the number of patients diagnosed with cancer is increasing exponentially, Bookout says. For this reason alone, the field of oncology is crucial, but it is clear that the payment model currently being used in the United States is not working.

Drug prices are rising at a more rapid pace than the number of patients diagnosed with cancer, and the country cannot pay for it in the long haul, Bookout notes. The United States currently has a mixed model of private and public insurance with Medicare and Medicaid, but there is a disconnect between the 2 entities regarding how to best work together to control cost.Therefore, researchers are working to identify a better model that will be most effective in this space. Bookout concludes that the health care community will eventually identify a system that works, but it is going to take time.

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Ryan Bookout, PharmD, president, Hematology/Oncology Pharmacy Association, clinical pharmacist, Moffitt Cancer Center, discusses the sustainability of the field of oncology as drug prices continue to rise.

The Sustainability of Rising Drug Prices in Oncology

Ryan Bookout, PharmD, president, Hematology/Oncology Pharmacy Association, and clinical pharmacist, Moffitt Cancer Center, discusses the impact of recent advances made in the oncology space and how precision medicine is improving patient outcomes.

For decades, chemotherapy has been the standard of care for most cancers, but patient outcomes have not drastically changed over the years. However, with the recent progress made in molecular profiling and genetic testing, oncologists are doing a better job of integrating targeted therapies into practice.

Moving forward, the challenge will be selecting the right oral drug, immunotherapy, or cellular therapy for each patient’s individualized disease, Bookout says. Upfront treatment will need to be followed by additional approaches to manage stable, chronic disease.

Bookout postulates that the field of oncology will follow that of diabetes, in that patients with cancer will be able to live for many years with the disease. Eventually, cancer will be eradicated in some forms, he adds, but the ultimate goal of oncologists is to turn incurable subtypes into manageable chronic diseases.

Ryan Bookout, PharmD, president, Hematology/Oncology Pharmacy Association, clinical pharmacist, Moffitt Cancer Center, discusses the impact of recent advances and precision medicine in oncology.

Ryan Bookout, PharmD

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The Sustainability of Rising Drug Prices in Oncology

The Impact of Precision Medicine in Oncology